Winmar is in the limelight this week ahead of the AFL's indigenous round, with the League commemorating one of its most iconic moments.
Responding to racist abuse from Collingwood fans at Victoria Park, Winmar raised his Saints jumper and proudly pointed to his chest.
Winmar returned to his old club on Tuesday and addressed the St Kilda players ahead of Saturday's match against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.
"Nick's not only a great role model for many of the indigenous kids and players ... he's a great role model for all of us," Watters said.
"His message was universal and I could tell by the way the players were on the edge of their seats listening, there was a lot of gravity with it.
"We're a better football club for having Nick Winmar as part of our history."
Watters said Winmar had two key messages when he spoke to the players - respect each other and hate losing.
Saints fans will hope the second message rubs off after their team faded badly last Sunday in the loss to Adelaide.
"That's what he based his career on - that absolute hatred of losing," Watters said.
Lenny Hayes is another fierce competitor for the Saints and he returns this weekend from three weeks out with a calf muscle injury.
Hayes' experience is almost as important as his ability for the young Saints side.
"He has another opportunity to play alongside a Jack Steven or a Jack Newnes," Watters said.
"The sharing of knowledge there is really, really important for us and he was in pretty good touch before going out of the side."
Watters noted that his young team had shown encouraging form before their fadeout against the Crows.
"For half a game last week, there were some good signs," he said.
"The second half, it was nowhere near where we wanted it to be.
"So 99 per cent of our focus is about really delivering the type of footy we want to deliver - it's irrelevant who we play."
The Bulldogs sprang a selection surprise, dropping veteran midfielder Daniel Cross and bringing in Nathan Hrovat for his senior debut.
"We looked at him last year, I think he's terrific," Watters said of Hrovat.
"I will concentrate on the players who are playing and he's a good one."
